It is known to use powdery toners containing pyrogenically produced surface-modified silicon dioxide in electrostatic developing processes. Various silanes, especially dimethyldichlorosilane are used for surface modification (See U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,617).
It is also known that pyrogenically produced silicon dioxide waterproofed with compounds of the general formula ##STR1## can be added to positively chargeable resin powders in order to increase their flowability (See published European Patent Application EP-A 0,293,009).
Published German Patent Application DE-A 12 09 427 discloses aluminum oxide whose surface has been modified with halogen silanes can be added to electrographic developing powders.
Published German Patent Application DE-A 34 26 685 (Canon) teaches the addition of aluminum oxide to positively chargeable toners in which the aluminum oxide has been treated simultaneously with the adhesion promoter .gamma.-aminopropyltriethoxy-silane and trimethylethoxysilane.
A similarly treated aluminum oxide is described in Published Japanese Patent Application JP-OS 31442 (Nippon Aerosil Corporation).
The known method has the disadvantage that it must use an organic solvent system. Alcohols, hydrocarbons and halogenated hydrocarbons are used as solvents which cannot be completely removed from the reaction product.